Anyone who knows any of us personally will know that we unashamedly enjoy pop at its worst. I think of it as a blessing.
The latest Beyonce song is not pop at its worst though. After a bit of Wikipediaing I found out it was written and produced by the same three guys that wrote and produced Rhianna’s “Umbrella”.
This song is awesome from all sides. The off-kilter vocals do my head in, but a pre-teen girl wouldn’t even notice. The menacing bass notes in the chorus (??) underneath what appeared to be a happy little ditty only a few seconds before, are inspired genius.
It’s a challenging song and a number one single in the US and UK. Which makes me ask the question, why can’t Australia produce pop that’s mildly interesting? Why do we have to always look overseas? Check out the number one singles of 2008. We’ve had no Australian artists with a number one this year so that makes the last artist…. Wes Carr. For one week. An Australian Idol.
Let’s keep looking… oh, right. Gabriella Cilmi. And she’s signed to a UK label.
I’m not sure what my point is here. I guess it’s that Beyonce’s song shows that you can be innovative and listeners won’t mind being challenged. The commerical music industry in Australia is unfortunately dominated by guys who were in bands in the 80s and who don’t take risks. A little bird told me Sony is currently putting their efforts into finding the Australian Kings of Leon. Ugh vomit.
That’s all for now.
Josh.
